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GNU Libtool is a software development tool, part of the GNU build system, consisting of a shell scriptcite-ref-libtool-is-a-shell-script-3-0[3] created to address the software portability problem when compiling shared libraries from source code. It hides the differences between computing platforms for the commands which compile shared libraries.cite-ref-libtool-portability-via-abstraction-4-0[4] It provides a command-line interface that is identical across platforms and it executes the platform's native commands, allowing software authors to offer build support for their code across many diverse platforms such as Linux, BSD variants, Windows (via Cygwin), HP-UX, Solaris (including on SPARC processors), AIX, and IRIX.cite-ref-5[5]

• Rationale

• Use

• Clones and derivatives

• See also

• References

• External links

Different operating systems handle shared libraries differently. Some platforms do not use shared libraries at all. It can be difficult to make a software program portable: the C compiler differs from system to system; certain library functions are missing on some systems; header files may have different names.

Libtool helps manage the creation of static and dynamic libraries on various Unix-like operating systems. Libtool accomplishes this by abstracting the library-creation process, hiding differences between various systems (e.g. Linux systems vs. Solaris).

GNU Libtool is designed to simplify the process of compiling a computer program on a new system, by "encapsulating both the platform-specific dependencies, and the user interface, in a single script". cite-ref-libtool-manual-6-0[6] When porting a program to a new system, Libtool is designed so the porter need not read low-level documentation for the shared libraries to be built, rather just run a configure script (or equivalent). cite-ref-libtool-manual-6-1[6]

Libtool is used by Autoconf and Automake, two other portability tools in the GNU build system. It can also be used directly. cite-ref-automake-uses-libtool-7-0[7]

Since GNU Libtool was released, other free software projects have created drop-in replacements under different software licenses.cite-ref-bsd-licensed-libtool-8-0[8] slibtool is one such implementation.cite-ref-9[9]

• GNU Compiler Collection – Free and open-source compiler for various programming languages

• pkg-config – Software development tool for querying library dependency information

cite-note-11. "GNU". Retrieved 25 June 2012.

cite-note-22. citerefileana-dumitrescu2024Ileana Dumitrescu (25 Sep 2024). "libtool-2.5.3 released [stable]". GNU Libtool - News. savannah.gnu.org.

cite-note-libtool-is-a-shell-script-33. ↑ "A postmortem analysis of other implementations". The GNU Libtool manual. The GNU project. 2015-02-15. Retrieved 2021-02-02.

cite-note-libtool-portability-via-abstraction-44. ↑ "Introduction". The GNU Libtool manual. The GNU project. 2015-02-15. Retrieved 2021-02-02.

cite-note-55. ↑ "Tested platforms". The GNU Libtool manual. The GNU project. 2015-02-15. Retrieved 2025-06-07.

cite-note-libtool-manual-66. ↑ Libtool Manual

cite-note-automake-uses-libtool-77. ↑ "Writing Makefile rules for libtool". The GNU Libtool manual. The GNU project. 2015-02-15. Retrieved 2021-02-02.

cite-note-bsd-licensed-libtool-88. ↑ BSD-licensed libtool.

cite-note-99. ↑ "Slibtool - Gentoo wiki". wiki.gentoo.org. Retrieved 2024-03-11.

• Official website

• Autobook homepage Archived 2010-12-20 at the Wayback Machine

• Autotools Tutorial

• Avoiding libtool minefields when cross-compiling Archived 2009-03-28 at the Wayback Machine

• Autotools Mythbuster